If you've bought the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 (5591) laptop then chances are you were aware that you could upgrade the RAM down the line if the need arose. The truth is that while 8 GB of RAM will make due for most users, if you're planning to use your Dell Inspiron 15 5000 laptop for some intense multitasking you might find yourself falling short of 8 GB of RAM.
Having said that, today we're going to go through all the steps you need to take to upgrade the RAM of this notebook, quickly and safely so that you can make the most out of your laptop and give it a new lease on life.
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 RAM Upgrade Tutorial Step-by-step
What type of RAM should I use?
First off, before doing anything, you need to know the type of RAM that your laptop uses. In this particular case you're going to need a PC3L-12800 DDR3L 1600MHz 204pin SODIMM RAM module. That means this is a DDR3 type RAM and works at a base speed of 1600 MHz so doubling the RAM on this notebook is going to be something that you're going to notice right away in everyday performance.
How much RAM should I get?
This laptop supports a maximum of 16 GB of RAM. We would encourage you to get an additional 8 GB compatible module, such as the official Dell RAM.
While it's true that you could upgrade an additional 4 GB of RAM, we recommend upgrading by another 8 GB module because that way your laptop will work with dual-channel RAM, making it all the much faster than if you implemented a more modest 4 GB upgrade.
What's more, for intensive multitaskers looking to work with numerous programs not only today but in the future, an additional 8 GB of RAM will allow you to work this laptop to its limits without breaking a sweat.
How to upgrade the RAM on the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 (5591)
First of all, we should note that you're going to need a cloth to prevent the laptop from scratching, a screwdriver, and a plastic knife or device of some kind to remove the lower case from the laptop.
Step 1: Once the laptop is turned off you're going to place it upside down and remove the screws. After doing that you're going to place the laptop rightside up and use a plastic knife or device of some kind to remove the lower casing that connects to the top from the sides. You could also use your fingernails.
Step 2: Once you've removed the bottom casing you can actually access the laptop's internals. The first thing you're going to do now is remove the tape that's attached to the battery and disconnect the battery so that you can make the upgrade easily.
Step 3: Once you've unplugged the battery you want to place the laptop right side up and press on the power button for 15 seconds. The laptop won't turn on. This is just a preventative measure to make sure that any remaining electricity on the laptop's internal circuits goes away and you don't damage the laptop.
Step 4: Once you've located the two RAM slots you'll see that one of them is already occupied by the laptop's own 8 GB of RAM.
However, there's an empty slot which is where you should place your new RAM. If you don't know how to insert it here's a good trick: there's a notch located slightly off-center on both the RAM you bought and the RAM slot. You need to get both notches to align and insert the RAM in a 45-degree angle.
Step 5: Once the RAM is inserted - you'll hear a clicking sound - you need to press down on the RAM and you'll hear another click. That's the RAM slot's clasp which is properly integrating the new RAM.
Step 6: Now that the RAM has been properly attached to the laptop you are going to plug the battery back on, re-attach the lower case and place the screws back on.
Step 7: Now you turn on your laptop. You might get a notice that the memory on the device has changed. If not just go ahead and head over to "Device Specifications" and in the line that says "Installed Memory" you'll be able to see the 16 GB of RAM you now have on your laptop.
And that's it. You've successfully managed to upgrade the RAM on the Dell Inspiron 15 5000. Now you can just sit back and enjoy working with a laptop that can handle double the multitasking it was handling and not even break a sweat. Pat yourself in the back, you did a great job!